The Last Few Days

In my last blog I forgot to mention that after our lunch in Tansley we drove into Chatsworth, one of England's stately homes but the entire front of the building was wrapped in scaffolding. We had planned only to photograph the outside as we wanted to move on to the small town of Eyam. This town was struck by the Plague in 1665 and decided to isolate itself.
As you walk through the town, signs in the front gardens of the cute little cottages provide information on the names and dates of the deaths that occurred within. Quite staggering numbers within just a few days.

On our last Tuesday we drove to Calke Abbey, an old English home once owned by an eccentric family who, during the early part of the century couldn't afford the upkeep of the house. Most of the rooms were abandoned with the furniture in place and eventually it was given over to the National Trust who decided to leave it almost exactly as they had found it. Aside from safety issues the house is therefore as it was in the early 1900s and provides a fascinating look into the times and the running of an estate of this size which covered many thousand acres. The nutbars who owned it had hundreds of stuffed animals...and I mean hundreds. The people who work there now to keep the place going, do not even know how many birds, deer, fish, and small mammals are part of the collection. Almost every room is full of cases with stuffed animals as well as furniture and tools of every kind that would be needed to run a place of this size. You can see the original kitchen, the wine cellars, the underground tunnels as well as all the rooms and miraculously a pure silk bedspread and curtains for a 4 poster bed, highly decorated, that was found in several crates. It had apparently been given as a wedding present and never used. There are stables and all the different vehicles, coaches etc that were used. There was also a walled garden for medicinal plants and fruit trees which is now given over to growing vegetables that were previously grown outside in the fields.

We had a lovely day wondering about this crazy place which now has a restaurant for tired feet to rest.

On Wednesday we drove for 90 minutes to get to York. They have a great Park & Ride system but the first parking lot was competely full so we had to drive on to the next one. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, the second parking lot was at a designer outlet mall so we couldn't resist popping into the Marks and Spencer...just for a minute or two. An hour later we emerged and made our way to the centre of town to see York Minster. It is a wonderful building and we made it inside just as the heavens opened and the torrential rain was so bad that they closed some of the doors to the building. It wasn't hard to spend a few hours inside the Minster touring the many parts of the building including a basement museum providing information about the original buildings on this site and the treasury containing silver goblets and candlesticks etc.

Unfortunately by this point in our lengthy trip we were not in great shape and after the Minster didn't have much energy for a lot more. We did wander some of the cobbled streets for a while before heading for home.

On Thursday morning we had an appointment at the bank and from there we went into Nottingham to do a bit of shopping for Michelle. By Friday we were ready for a quiet day which we had planned as our repacking day. It was the last day that we could relax and enjoy the beautiful garden and patio of our friends in Ilkeston. Although we had been out and about every day during this last week, we still found time to relax in the evenings and the weather was good enough to sit outside and enjoy the sun, the flowers and the many visiting birds. My friend Maggie has adopted a stray cat who visits regularly and she regularly puts out food for the foxes who come for their dinner every night.

We were really sorry to leave but on Saturday morning we set off for our final visit of this trip to some friends in Wokingham who we met in Toronto before they returned to the UK many years ago. Their proximity to the airport means that we usually leave them until the end and Roger and I stayed with them for a night almost every time we visited the UK on those many visits we did for my mum and Aunty Lily. We arrived on Saturday in time for lunch with them and their son Steve and his family. My mum always said that you know how old you are by looking at other peoples children and I think of that whenever I see Steve. I saw him for the first time a few hours after he was born and now he is 41 and has a lovely wife and little daughter of almost two years. In the afternoon after "the kids" left we sat around and chatted for a while before dinner which was followed by a video showing that was walk down memory lane for me and delighted Michelle. Many years ago, B.C. (before children), Roger and I had a transvestite party and although we have photographs of this which our kids have seen, our friends in Wokingham have a few minutes on video. Michelle got to see her father, aged about 30, prancing around like an idiot in a mini-dress, and a large hat. Although all the women were dressed as men and looked pretty silly, it wasn't quite as funny as the guys dressed as women...especially if one of them is your dad and another one with a long wig and a maternity dress, a guy that you have never met before, is now at the wrong end of his 60s and is sitting across the room from you. It was a great laugh!!

And so we came to Sunday and it was time to take the car back and claim our hotel room at the airport for the final night of our almost 6 week vacation. We were both so ready to come home but we've had a fantastic vacation which I am sure we'll talk about for a long time to come. Michelle enjoyed getting a taste of England and even enjoyed meeting all my old friends. We both thoroughly enjoyed the sight seeing in England and the Czech Republic and of course the highlight of our trip was to Karlovy Vary, my mum's home town which I think exceeded all our expectations.

Thank you all for following our blog and the many positive comments.

Back in England

Hi Everyone...yes, we are fine but have just found it more difficult to post the blogs. The reason is that since returning to the UK and moving on to other places, we now come home in the evening to friends and so spend the evenings chatting and not blogging.

The Czech Republic was of course a wonderful experience for both of us. After Karlovy Vary we returned to the same hotel in Prague arriving at lunchtime and in the afternoon we wandered down to the astrological clock. The following day we took the bus up the hill to the monestary and the castle and walked down the hill visiting as much as possible along the way. We were both extremely tired and walked very slowly and really couldn't be bothered to fight the crowds. People had told us that Prague was the most beautiful city in Europe but we had been so taken with Karlovy Vary that it really didn't strike us this way. It is very lovely but I'm not sure that we would use as many superlatives. Michelle kept commenting on the huge amount of graffitti everywhere and was particularly upset when it defaced the beautiful buildings. While Karlovy Vary seems to have been totally cleaned up, Prague is a bit of a hit and miss affair with some things having been cleaned up and others looking pretty sad.

Michelle can post here pictures of two lamp posts. They are identical and stand within 100 yards of one another. One is completely rusted out and really grotty looking and the other has been cleaned and freshly painted and is beautiful. We particularly noted the famous bridge in Prague, the one with all the statues which has not been cleaned up at all. It seemed strange to us. Anyway we had a wonderful 6 days there and wouldn't have missed it for the world.

On our return to London we took the coach back to Victoria and passed the Natural History Museum. This building has been totally sandblasted (or otherwise cleaned up) and it is certainly as beautiful as anything we saw in the Czech Republic. London has certainly cleaned up a lot of buildings since I was last here, particularly the churches but other building as well. It is just that they aren't all in one location.

The next day we reluctantly said goodbye to the lovely apartment that had been our home for almost 3 weeks although I have to say that we were looking forward to getting the car and being kind to our feet! We went back to the airport to pick up the car and spent quite a while figuring out where everything was. On this occasion nobody even came to the car with us. They just gave us the key, pointed to the parking lot and waved goodbye. We thought we had found everything important ...the lights, the wipers, etc etc....until we came to buy gas. Some days have gone by since I wrote anything so I'll skip ahead and tell you what happened a couple of days ago when we thought we'd buy gas. We pulled into the gas station and looked for the button to release the gas cap cover. I couldn't find it anywhere. Michelle got in the drivers seat to look. She couldn't find it anywhere. We moved the seat back...still couldn't find it. So...feeling rather silly but thinking that there must be some new thing either with newer models or perhaps something specific to the UK we waited until another customer drove into the gas station. I was happy that it was a very young guy because I figured he'd just think I was some silly old lady....which he probably did, but I explained the problem to him explaining that despite my accent, I wasn't living in this country and had a hire car. As all you Brits will guess, he walked over to my car, tapped the gas cap cover and the thing opened. So...for the sake of you Brits I have to tell you that in Canada all our gas caps are locked and it never occurred to us that yours are not.

So back a few days, we drove the car to our next stop which was Olney, a delightful little village near to Milton Keynes. My school friend Carole has recently moved here from Cornwall so it was great to see her lovely new old place and then go out for dinner and to get caught up on all the family news since the last time we had been together. The next day we drove an hour across country to my old friend Moni(ca), emphasis on the friend not the "old" who lives with her husband in Baldock. They had just returned from vacation so were both still on holiday and we had a lovely lunch with them before returning to Olney where Carole had been joined by Bob,yet another friend from many years ago so we spent another evening chatting and recalling old times. Carole and I had fun telling Michelle all the naughty things we did together while we were at school.

The next day we wandered around Olney and had another lovely lunch before heading off for Ilkeston in Derbyshire. This was Friday and we are now with friends Maggie and Lew who have a lovely house and garden. We elected to spend Saturday around the house and realised that we were more than ready for a lazy day.

On Sunday we were off again to meet another friend with whom I made contact through Friends Reunited an English website that connects people who went to school together. Sheila and I were not really in the same crowd although we spent 6 years in the same class and it was really lovely to see her again and to catch up on our mutual friends and current lives. We met at a lovely pub that Roger and I have been to many times and which I wanted to show to Michelle. The place and food were as always excellent and after our meal we all took a lovely walk along the tow path next to the canal. Michelle even got to see a boat passing through the lock.

We had two more calls to do after lunch. The first was successful, a trip to see Aunty Lily's house, now sold. It at least gave Michelle a look at a place about which she had heard so much if only because Roger and I spent a lot of time there in the last couple of years of Lily's life.

Unfortunately the neighbours were not at home but that gave us a time, so we thought, to go to Asda (Walmart) to check out the clothes. Unfortunately British Sunday laws interferred with this trip as they closed almost as soon as we got there but we saw enough to know we have to go back.

Today Monday 1st August we tripped out with Maggie while her husband went golfing. We went to another place that was an old haunt of mine and Roger's but found the pub had changed hands and didn't appeal to me any more. It turned out to be a stroke of luck as we found an alternative place to eat and had an absolutely wonderful meal. Boy, have we been eating well on this trip but everywhere seems to provide much more meat than we are used to.

Our plans for tomorrow are to go to an old home (big old house) and on wednesday we are going to York for the day. One week from today is the day we will return to Canada so not much more time but still a few more places and people to fit in. Will try and write some more as we can and I hope Michelle can add a few more photos.

To all the "Novel Women", my bookgroup friends....I miss you all and part of me is looking forward to being back home. I'm bringing some goodies with me and will have to throw out a few things in order to get them all into the suitcase.

Thanks for your emails those of you who have written. I do check my gmail every day.

Sue

Master of Lights and Loos

July 30th Update **Pictures Added**

Michelle and I agreed that this should be the title of the next blog since every room we go into has a different system for turning on the lights and every bathroom a different way of flushing the toilet...hence our new designation of M.L.L. Master of Lights and Loos.

We are back in Prague now and again I am not sure how long I can get away with using this computer so I'll just make a start and carry on whenever I can.

Some general comments....Great coffee in the Czech Republic....hate the fact that a lot of people smoke in restaurants...hotels have been great especially the one here in Prague which is close to everything and was something like $85 a night and includes a giant breakfast which is one of our two meals a day.

In Prague people speak English but in Karlovy Vary where we have just been they only spoke German and Russian. Never thought I would go to the Czech Republic to improve my German but that is in fact what happened. Very few English speaking people in Karlovy Vary. Lots of Russians, a very rich crowd, and Asians especially Koreans.

Ok...Karlovy Vary....WOW!!!
We took the train there in favour of the bus and enjoyed it very much. Nothing really out of the ordinary about it except that we were surprised to see row upon row of solar panels. We both like the train and you can move around more easily and don't have to be strapped in. The journey took us 3 hours and we saw some nice country on the way.

The hotel in KV wasn't as big or classy as the one in Prague but our room was about the same price and perfectly adequate. KV is a smaller place and again we were right near the centre. My friend and distant relative Carol was waiting for us at the hotel and no sooner had we arrived and dropped our stuff than she had us on the bus going across the river to my mother's old home town. It used to be called Fishern (in German) but is now called Rybare (which apparently means something to do with fish as well). I had taken along a photograph taken in 1991, the last time anyone had photographed the house that once was my grandparents business and home. Neither Carol nor I knew where it was on a long street originally called Hauptstrasse (Main street) and now called something else. Of course once the German speaking population were driven out of this area all names were switched to Czech names and in many cases, because the place was occupied by the Communists, to names of communist sympathisers. Anyway a man in the street saw us looking at the photo and then looking at the house fronts and he beckoned me over to see if he could help. He wasn't totally sure so he waved to his buddy across the road who took it into a bar and came out moments later and told us where to look. Sure enough we found it, sadly not in very good shape but we'll post a picture here once we can upload the pictures.

Building In Fishern Once Owned by the Simon Family

Carol's partner wanted to visit a local shop so Michelle and Carol and I stood outside the shop, which unfortunately was closed, and talked about my mum and my grandparents. If anyone thought this was going to be an emotional moment, it turned out not to be.

For those of you who have never heard of Karlovy Vary, formerly called Karlsbad yes, where the lager comes from, this is a spa town. The locals have directed the very hot and mineralized water to various taps throughout the town and people come here to drink the water.

Ornate Fountain in Karlovy Vary

Fountain in Karlovy Vary

Before WWII this was a very fashionable place and there are many many wonderful old houses and many hotels which cater just to this. Since the end of communism in the Czech Republic they have been renovating the old places to their original architecture and painted them up and the place is absolutely incredible. They river runs through the town and they have closed the roads on either side of the river and paved them over.

Walking Beside the River in Karlovy Vary

So....miles and miles of these gorgeous old houses with amazing carved decoration. Paved walkways for easy walking and lots of little touristy outlets with everything from Czech crystal, to scarves, and specialty foods AND, the most important thing, little cups with spouts so that people can fill the cup with the spa water and then walk along sipping it. I thought it extremely funny to see people walking along with, in one hand the spa water which is supposed to make them more healthy, and in the other hand a sobrani!!! People here smoke a lot! There are also many signs for the WC for obvious reasons.

 Looking Down the River and Along the Main Street

Looking Down on the Statue calling for Peace Between Religions

On the first evening Carol took us to this walking area and we had our first look before dinner. On the second day she lead us on a tour of places where apparently my relatives had once lived and/or places where my mother had once danced as a teenager. Some of the hotels are still called by the same names and anyone who ever chatted to my mother about her childhood would have heard about the tea dances she went to. Also these hotels were once my grandparents' customers as they had a wholesale and retail store selling, amongst other things, china and glass to the many hotels.

 Richmond Hotel

Grand Pupp Hotel

Imperial Hotel

(This one is perched on the top of a hill and looks out over the city)

This blog cannot do justice to these hotels until we have the photos up. The hotels are absolutely enormous, and often perched up on the hillside overlooking the town. In one case we rode a cable car up to the hotel, had a coffee and rode down again. Of course everything you do here costs you money including going to the bathroom which costs about $0.60 CAN. That can get expensive when you stop several times a day for coffee!! We walked until we thought our feet were going to drop off and both nights we were happy to stop for dinner and eat authentic Czech cuisine.

Michelle and I took the train back to Prague on Sunday arriving in time to go for an evening stroll...or should I say we both limped very slowly to see the astrological clock, one of the sights for which Prague is famous.

Today we took the tram to the top of the hill overlooking Prague and walked back down, taking in sights of the Castle and it's surrounding buildings with a walk over the very famous Prague bridge. Unfortunately our feet have got the better of us so we couldn't do this all justice but we did manage to walk very slowly and see most of it.

Tomorrow we are flying back to London and the following day will rent a car and head out of town. If we get a chance, Michelle will add some photos to the last two blogs...but no promises.

A car, a car. My kingdom for a car!

Hi From Prague

July 30th Update **Pictures Added**

Not sure how long I will have on the computer so will start by saying that we arrived here safely and had a great day today visiting the synagogues of Prague. We already have our tickets for the train tomorrow that will take us to Karlovy Vary. This site is all in Czech so I'm hoping I can remember how to post this blog.

I'll backtrack a little now to say that we were up at five am yesterday for the flights to Prague via Munich. We weren't too impressed with having to get off on the tarmac since it wasn't just pouring but coming down in buckets and the ground was just one great big puddle. With all your hand luggage and waiting for the people in front of you to move, it wasn't much fun. However, we did like the free coffee in Munich airport. The second plane to Prague was the tightest we have ever been and Michelle said she felt like a sardine in the tin.

We got off the plane in Prague where, if anything, it was raining even harder and thank goodness there were signs in English. We managed to buy a three day pass for the bus-subway system and found our way to the station closest to the hotel. I figured that by the time we got to the hotel we would be like a couple of drowned rats but lo and behold the hotel was just steps away from the subway. If we had had access to the computer last night we would have invited you to a party in our bathroom which is bigger than Michelle's living room.

 Bathroom at the Hotel Christie

The room is great too with two single beds, bar, safe and two massive windows overlooking a courtyard.

Our Room at the Hotel Christie

We didn't want to go wondering around for food so went to the hotel restaurant which serves food till nine thirty. Nobody else was there when we arrived so we thought we were out of luck but we ended up having a wonderful meal of chicken with a herb topping and roasted vegetables and a basket of bread for the same price we had been paying in London and about eleven dollars Canadian. If you are wondering why I am not writing the numbers nor abbreviating with apostrophes it is because there are four characters on the top row and its taking just too long to figure out which keystrokes for which letter.

Anyway things seem quiet around here...so I will just carry on. We made some enquiries about the train to Karlovy Vary tomorrow and were told that we should pre book as tomorrow is Friday and the people in Prague go back to KV for the weekend. So...before starting our real day we found our way to the main train station which looks very nice and modern. The subway here seems to be very quick and efficient and the subway map very easy to follow. We then set off on our main mission to go to the one synagogue that has the names of all the holocaust victims inscribed onto the walls. What an amazing sight. They are listed by town from which they were rounded up so you have to know that in order to find any names. Fortunately we have this information for quite a number of my relatives and we did manage to find {and photograph} the names of my grandparents, as well as some other close family members.

One of the Large Rooms in the Pinkas Synogogue

(The walls here are covered with places and names)

 Closer View of One Panel in the Pinkas Synogogue

 Close Up of Wall in Pinkas Synogogue

(Entries are alphabetical, first by city then by surname.   Surnames are listed in red followed by the first name, birthdate and the last date the person was known to be alive.   Families with the same surname are divided by a golden asterisk.)

Photography is not allowed but there are as many people breaking this rule as those observing it and so we continued except for the one occasion when Michelle was told specifically to stop. The photos will have to wait for another day. There are two courtesy computers in the hotel and I think everyone is at dinner right now.

Which reminds me that we had the most amazing buffet breakfast this morning which was included in the price of the room. I thought continental breakfast meant rolls and coffee but not here. There was everything from cold cuts, cheese, cereals, cake, yoghurt and fruit, every imaginable beverage etc. etc. Because of this we had a huge breakfast which kept us going until four pm when we went for some typically Czech food of roast pork, potato dumplings and sauerkraut. This blog is going to end up sounding as if we spend all our time eating but my feet will attest to the fact that we have walked miles. The tickets for the synagogue actually includes five synagogues many of which are museums so we are well and truly educated in Jewish traditions and customs, something in which we have been sadly lacking. So far we have only visited the old town of Prague. As well as the synagogue we visited the old cemetery with graves dating back to the twelve hundreds. You will have to wait for the photos but it is amazing. The lack of space meant that they buried people on top of others creating higher ground and the grave stones are at every angle crowded together very closely. Obviously some of the trees have been there a long time as they have grown around some of the grave markers.

 Old Jewish Cemetery

Old Jewish Cemetery

I must admit that I was very moved in this synagogue and the graveyard. Maybe a sentimental feeling for things that might have been. My mother always refused to retrace her steps and visit Prague and her home town. I believe today that she felt tremendous guilt about leaving her parents behind and I never pushed her to come with me although it would have been awesome to do this trip with her. Still Michelle and I are enjoying the experience together.

The Spanish synagogue was amazing...haven't yet figured out why it is called Spanish but anyway it was full of holocaust memorabilia including a Daily Report from Terezin or Theresienstadt as it was called in German, which was dated the day before my grandparents were shipped out of there.

Alter of the Spanish Synogogue

Dome and Star of David Chandelier in the Spanish Synogoue

Close Up of Wall Detail in the Spanish Synagogue

Nothing special about that I suppose but since it was the report of the daily activities, the date caught my eye. Sorry this is all a bit scattered but I'm just chucking things down as I think of them. Lots of stone in this city...buildings, floors in the train station, cobbled streets and mosaic patterns of stone on the sidewalks. You will have to backtrack to this blog at some time to get the photos.

Well, I'm feeling a bit guilty as I chucked some guy off the machine. He was just doing Facebook and listening to loud music. Now there is nobody here and it looks as if I could go for another while. But....I have packing to do.

Again...not sure what we will find at the next hotel. I have a feeling that it is a bit smaller than this one but we are getting used to surprises.

By six in the evening we were totally done and so here we are at home going for an early night so we can be up early again so we can check out and be on the train by nine thirty.

I'm thinking that publikovat prispevek means post this blog so here goes
love to all.

Last day of London sight seeing

We planned a fairly easy day today but it didn't quite work out that way.

Just to catch up I'll tell you that we hopped on the train to Redhill yesterday to visit my 90 year old aunt. Boy! if I'm in half as good shape when I'm 90, I'll be doing well. Michelle was looking forward to meeting her and she wasn't disappointed. My aunt, always a beautiful woman, looked amazing. In her fashionably modern sweater and beautiful white hair, she smelled so good when she opened the door to us.

Sue and Aunty Katja

Although she relies on her walker (zimmerframe) to get around she is full of jokes about the junk she carries around with her in the storage compartment and full of stories about her life's experiences. Michelle thought she might be reluctant to speak of her time in several concentration camps during WWII but she was very down to earth about that period and continued on to tell us many stories about her subsequent life and work experiences. Sitting in the sun room of her beautifully furnished and spotlessly clean bungalow she served us up a lovely cake and tea and we were amazed that 4 hours slipped by very quickly. As always I was really sorry to take my leave of her and regret very much that I don't live closer and could visit her more often. Unfortunately her two daughters with whom I spent time as a child, were both out of the country yesterday.

So...on to today. On our way home last night we bought tickets on-line to go up The London Eye for 10.30 am today. The tickets are cheaper if you buy on-line but you need a printer to print them off so we had to go to an internet store that is close to the apartment. We were hoping that if we got there early in the morning (they only open at 10) we'd miss the crowds and we seem to have been successful although once we started lining up to actually get on, we noticed that we hadn't beaten the hoards by more than a few minutes. It was a very grey and cloudy day today which you will see by the photos but the clouds were high up enough that it didn't interfere with the sights.

A grey day at the London Eye

An empty compartment of the London Eye

I'm not sure what they call the "compartments", "bubbles", "cars" whatever...the containers that you go up in, but there were about 22 people in ours and plenty of room to move around and take photos without other people getting in the way. The wheel does not stop on the way round and you just get in and out as it moves very slowly. At the bottom it meets the platform for long enough that two people with equipment go through every "compartment" checking for bombs between every group of people and we also had to submit to a very quick check before we got on. The complete circle takes half an hour and so by 11 am we were out of there.

Big Ben from half way up on the London Eye

Statue of Bodicea in the centre

Big Ben and Houses of Parliament from the top of the London Eye

Round building is new Hotel

Front right: Charing Cross Station

Back tall column: BT tower (where my mum had her gall bladder attack)

Left centre: Nelson's Column (white with black top)

Nelson's Column, Trafalgar Square

St. Martin's in the Field, Trafalgar Square

Looking down river, Charing Cross Bridge

The new London Bridge

For some reason a single man in the next compartment

They call the pointed highrise "The Gherkin"

Looking down river

Looking straight down to the ground

Although we had some things planned for the afternoon we decided, as we crossed the Westminster Bridge back to the bus, that we had time to take a short river cruise so that Michelle could at least see the Tower of London and Tower Bridge.

We hoped aboard one of the many boats and I actually got a seniors discount for the first time on this trip. The journey down river took about 45 minutes and the trip back only about 15 minutes but as you will see, Michelle took some nice photos despite the weather.

One of the river cruise boats coming out from under Westminster Bridge

A different cruise boat

Westminster Bridge and London Eye from up river

The Milenium suspension bridge

Old Buildings converted to condos with St. Paul's in background

Tower of London

Tower Bridge

Reproduction of original Globe Theatre (with thatched roof)

Old docklands building converted to condos (flats)

Other buildings with new covered portion in the middle

Another old docklands building

She is always taken with the new glass buildings alongside buildings that are hundreds of years old. When you are up on the London Eye you really do get a better sense of how much the older and much smaller buildings are being crowded out by the new glass towers. Some of those old buildings are so gorgeous but it is hard to appreciate them because the view of them is never from a proper distance where you can take in the decoration at the tops and/or the roofs, but you are always looking at them from the sidewalk right out front.

Here you see the small old building right next to monster glass tower

Anyway, coming back up river from Tower Bridge it was very chilly and neither of us were properly dressed for the occasion. When we hit the Embankment again which is right around Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament, we were right back into the thronging masses and so we jumped aboard our favourite Number E-L-E-V-E-N bus and headed back towards home. We had to call in at the bank, which amazingly went very smoothly..you know the fun I have with banks here... and the young receptionist gave us great directions to some eateries away from the main road where we found a relatively empty pub and had a fabulous lunch. One Fish and Chips and one Steak and Ale pie....both excellent!!!

On the way home we stopped at Marks and Spencer. I've already had the packet of lox I mentioned in an earlier blog but oh M&S do such wonderful desserts that I'm afraid I set a very bad example to my child and had to buy a Mocha Chocolate light as a feather yummy thing and a chocolate eclair for tomorrow.

Our agenda for tomorrow is to pack up as if we were leaving for good, except of course we are now off to the Czech Republic. However, when we get back we're only here for one night before picking up a car and heading north. We are staying in small hotels while we are in Prague and Karlovy Vary but we think they both have internet available to us so we'll try and keep you posted even if it is without photographs for now.

Thanks again for all the positive feedback. Your responses to the blog have made it a lot of fun for us too. On to Prague!

Planes and teapots

Since I have some extra time this morning I thought I'd share some observations with you...things that we've noticed and on which we have made comments to one another.

London airport is of course very close to the big city itself and so planes are constantly overhead. Michelle probably hasn't seen as many airplanes in her entire life as she has seen since arriving in London. From Clare's flat they pass directly overhead and you can often see two or three stacked up on their approach to London Airport. They are surprisingly quiet although they appear to be fairly low.

Talking of quiet...London is not quiet. Coming from a small place, even after our many years in a Toronto suburb, we realise just how noisy the city can be. Car and people noise continues throughout the night although I have to admit I quickly adapted to sleeping through it despite the continual siren noises which I realised is not so much the police across the road but the ambulances which are probably twice as loud as those that we are used to. Perhaps we'll notice the silence when we get back to Nanaimo.

We've also noticed the many helicopters that circle the city constantly. Earlier in the week when we visited mum's friend in Cricklewood (a London suburb) we had to stop our conversation 3 times in a two hour period when the helicopter passed immediately overhead, as the noise bothered our friend's hearing aid.

Certainly the Brits are still very cautious of possible terrorist attacks and we soon realised that the amount of garbage around is probably because they have removed all the garbage cans for fear that they provide places to leave bombs. We were taken by surprise when we were asked to open our purses yesterday at the London Eye but to be honest it wasn't much of a search. Then of course they also checked the compartments....which are mostly glass, but they used mirrors for high and low places in the centre where something could potentially be hidden.

Ok...so the next small thing in which we have taken some delight is that the teapots don't drip!

In Canada we are all used to those dreadful metal teapots that spill tea everywhere as soon as you tip them. Here the teapots are all ceramic and they DONT drip. Of course the other delightful thing is that they sell so many lovely looking pots and were it not that we are scared to break it on the way home, we would probably have bought one...or six!!!

And of course, the tea itself is delicious. It tastes completely different here and I'm sure it isn't just the water.

When you order water in a restaurant here you have to specify if you want tap water or they assume you want bottled water and they ask you if you want still or sparkling water. Tap water here is pretty disgusting to taste but perfectly safe to drink.

Certainly in London, the restaurants and other service areas are all manned by foreigners.

Mushy peas are offered here with your order of Fish and Chips and we've been quite amused to be asked about something so very English, by so many different accents. Sometimes the waiters themselves have trouble understanding the customers.

And while we are on the subject of foreigners, there are a lot of Muslem women in headscarves and just as many in full black garb with only their eyes showing. You can certainly understand why it has become a contentious issue. The dress code for these women makes them not only a visible minority but adds another dimension to their difference. In Vancouver, we are very used to the Sikh or Chinese groups and believe that we "don't even notice". However, we have noticed that getting into the elevator with just a pair of eyes is a very different experience. I'm sure it would be something we could all get used to but it certainly brings home to us the fact that we subconsciously judge everybody, even those with whom we step onto an elevator, based on dress and appearance and so someone behind a complete cloak of black is an unknown quantity.

Going back to the Fish and Chips for a moment, the portions are definitely much bigger than what we are used to and to my taste buds, also much better. The price would be about the same.

Michelle has commented that she loves the fact that there are so many small stores and that it is possible to shop every day on your way back home from wherever you have been. No need here for giant shopping expeditions that take all afternoon.

Scarves are on sale everywhere here and they sell in every price range right down to 3 for £5.

Thats 3 for about $8CAN. Needless to say we've already bought 6 and yes, they are probably pretty crappy material. If you want good stuff, Marks and Spencer and other places charge the same price they would be in Canada.

One thing I always enjoy in the UK is the fact that stores carry clothes that are so much more fashioned than those we see in everyday places. Even cheap stuff here has a design to it and is more than just a straight T-shirt style. Michelle has bought a couple of things but more for the difference from something at home rather than for the price. The shoes at M&S are lovely but of course I'm stuck in the same pair of shoes for ever and Michelle takes a size larger than standard.

The largest and most obvious thing to mention is the enormous number of things to see and do. It isn't just that London is an old city so that buildings themselves hold a fascination for those of us who live in new places, but also that money is invested in the arts here. These museums that we have been going to are all free, asking only for donations of £3 ($5 CAN). Nobody watches to see what or if you pay anything. I realise that many of these marvellous things housed in these buildings have been there for a long time and so that support has been there historically but the fact is that the money continues to support them. And all of them provide decent restaurants, interesting gift shops and good access.

While I enjoy living in Nanaimo and will certainly look forward to returning to the peace and tranquility of the place, I find myself asking why my friends should visit me there. Unless they want to spend two weeks hiking, scuba diving or playing golf there isn't really anything to keep them once they have looked at the natural beauty of the place. I don't say this to put down Nanaimo or Vancouver but merely to say that people who are trying to entice tourism in either of those places need to recognise what the competition offers and come up with a reason for someone to linger in our area for longer. Small places can't be expected to provide funding for this on their own but people who visit need to have a variety of things to experience in other local towns and cities. The proximity of the big cities to smaller European towns is to their advantage so a tourist needs a reason to come to Nanaimo other than a walk in the woods!

Bitch me out if you will but it seems like a no brainer to me!!

Well, thats all I can think of to comment on right now and its time to get the day rolling.

TTFN

Done like dinner!

(photos to follow whenever Michelle can find time)

Tonight I am absolutely shattered after another day at the museum. It was pouring with rain today as we set off for the Victoria and Albert museum so we decided to eat lunch there. Michelle had a write up which said that this was the best of all the museum cafeterias and we can now certainly confirm that it was good. We both ordered roast pork, roast potatoes, veggies and gravy and as the guy piled it all higher and higher we realised that we could probably have been perfectly happy sharing one meal. It was amazingly good considering the number of people going through the place and better than other restaurants at which we had paid much more money.

The entrance from the subway and the foyer of the museum was swarming with people so having picked up the floor plan we headed for the top floor to try and get away from the crowds. That worked pretty well and I hope you all enjoy the pictures of the amazing pottery from around the world. We were absolutely staggered by the number of pieces and you can see that the cases housing the exhibits run from one end of the room to the other. Michelle took literally hundreds of photos and she'll have trouble picking the best ones.

Shelves of China

(This is just a quarter of what was in this room.   This is only half of the row of shelves and there is another row behind it.  There were at least 6 rooms like this.)

 Lovely Dinner Plate

 Large Decorative Plate

Panel of Tiles - Bull Motif

 Serving Platter

Panel of Tiles - Urn Motif

From there we made our way down the floors. We saw many different sections and I'll leave it to Michelle to label them so you have some idea although we haven't made any notes so can't be too specific. I just loved the tiny Japanese carvings with so much detail and also enjoyed the beautiful furniture. Roger has taught me to appreciate good wood working and some of the pieces are exquisite.

Table Sue Really Liked 

 Statue of St Peter

 Information on Japanese Netsuke

 Netsuke Man

Netsuke Cock 

 Netsuke Man Riding a Horse

Netsuke Beast

At 4 pm we'd been walking around for 3 hours and I was starting to feel a little tired so we headed back to the cafeteria for our afternoon tea. I just hope that all this exercise is taking care of the extra few calories. Previously we've both had a cup of tea and shared a piece of cake but today it just looked too good to share. The cafeteria is divided into several rooms and here are the photos of the room where we had tea.

Stained Glass Window

(This was the room we had our tea in) 

Second Room in the Cafeteria 

Third Room in the Cafeteria

After another hour I just couldn't stand it any longer. The lower we went in the building the more the crowds increased so we headed for the gift shop and decided to call it a day after that.

Although the exhibits in the museum were absolutely wonderful I found this gift shop quite uninspiring and ridiculously expensive, more so than others we've visited, so I headed for a seat outside while Michelle continued to wonder around. Outside on the benches I ran into the other walking wounded and felt a lot better after a man at least 20 years younger than me said that this day was more tiring than a day at work!

When we got outside it had stopped pouring and seemed quite a nice evening so we decided to walk down to Harrods. Well...I've run out of words to describe the crowds but Harrods was the worst yet. Michelle wanted to buy a Dr. Who toy so we literally fought our way through masses up to the 4th floor. For those of you who don't know, Harrods covers a city block and the 4th floor is divided into toys for boys, toys for girls, designer clothes for children and who knows what else. It was totally nuts and Michelle kept saying "no way would I ever bring my child here". In the end we couldn't find what Michelle wanted and so we got out of there as fast as our little feet could carry us.

By the time we got home I didn't even have the energy to make a cup of tea and so Michelle has been catering to me all evening. Tomorrow we are off to see my aunt so I doubt we'll have much to tell you.